Beilby Medal & Prize

The Beilby Medal and Prize is sustained by a Trust Fund commemorating Sir George Beilby FRS who was President of The Society of Chemical Industry from 1898-99, The Institute of Chemistry from 1902-12 and The Institute of Metals from 1916-18, and founding chairman of the Fuel Research Board.

The award is administered in rotation by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3), The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).

2023 Asst Prof Charlotte Vogt, 2022 Prof Sahika Inal, 2021 Dr Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer, 2020 J Xuan, 2019 P Jain, 2018 G Beckham, 2017 K-T Yong, 2016 S Banerjee, 2014 J Pérez-Ramírez, 2013 F Duan, 2012 Adam F Lee, 2011 S Kingman, 2010 S Jayasinghe, 2009 Z Bao, 2008 N McKeown, 2007 I D W Samuel, 2006 M Kraft, 2005 S R Biggs & N Shah, 2004 I P Parkin, 2003 P G Bruce, 2002 No awarded, 2001 A Cerezo, 2000 Z X Guo, 1999 J T S Irvine & A J Ryan, 1998 C C Pantelides, 1997 R A Williams, 1996 P J Luckham, 1995 L F Gladden, 1994 H M Muller-Steinhagen, 1993 H A Chase & D C Sherrington, 1992 R C Brown, 1991 G J Ashwell, 1990 R F Dalton, 1989 Not awarded, 1988 Not awarded, 1987 G E Thompson, 1986 M R Mackley, 1985 G D W Smith, 1984 A Grint, 1983 B J Briscoe, 1981 J D Fray & R M Nedderman, 1980 J B Scuffham, 1979 S F Bush, 1978 J C Scully, 1977 J E Castle, 1976 I Fells, 1975 P R Swann, 1973 J Szekely & G C Wood, 1972 F P Lees, 1971 J H Purnell, 1970 A R C Westwood, 1969 R E Smallman, 1968 J Mardon, 1967 A Kelly, 1966 J F Davidson, 1965 J A Charles, 1964 P L Pratt, 1963 R W K Honeycombe & R W B Nurse, 1961 C Edeleanu & J Nutting, 1957 B E Hopkins & E C Potter, 1956 R W Kear, 1955 F D Richardson & F Wormwell, 1954 H K Hardy & J W Menter, 1952 T V Arden, 1951 K H Jack& W A Wood, 1950 W A Baker & G Whittingham, 1949 F R N Nabarro, C E Ransley & K W Sykes, 1948 A S C Lawrence, 1947 G V Raynor & G R Rigby, 1940 F M Lea, 1938 F P Bowden & B Jones, 1937 B S Evans & W H J Vernon, 1934 W Hume-Rothery & E A Rudge, 1933 C F Tipper & A J V Underwood, 1932 W J Rees & W R Schoeller, 1930 G D Bengough & U R Evans

1898-99: President, Society of Chemical Industry
1909-12: President, Institute of Chemistry
1916-18: President, Institute of Metals

Sir George Beilby, FRS, educated at Edinburgh University, began his industrial career at the age of 19 with the Oakbank Oil Company.

His pioneering wok on the manufacture of shale oil is well known, and the improvements he affected in collaboration with William Young gave a new life to the industry to enable it to compete with importef petroleum oils. After some years of work in this field, Sor George turned his attention to new processes for the production of cyanides. In this he was again successful in building up a large and successful company working on his inventions, particularly one relating to the recovery of gold by the cyanide process.

Throughout his industrial career Sir George was interested in fuel economy and in fume abatement. His studies of coal led in 1903 to a report to the Royal Commission on Coal Supplies, In 1912-13, he served on Lord Fisher's Commission on Fiel and Engines for the Navy, and it was his experimental work on which the findingd of that committee were largely based. The committee reported that the only way of securing a home sourve of fuel oil was to develop a new process for the carbonisation of coal at a much lower temperature than that employed in gas making. A great deal of pioneering work was later carried out under his direction.

During World War I, when the necessity for further work on fuel culminated in the formation of a Fuel Research Board, Sir George was appointed chairman and director. Under his direction the Fuel Research Station at East Greenwich was built and equiped for both laboratoryand large-scale investigations on the schemes adopted by the Government.

Sir George was also active in pure science and his many papers serve as models of careful scientific observation His work on the microstructure and physical properties of metals also enabled him to start research on the structure of coke.

Sir George was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1906 and received the honour of knighthood in 1916. Honorary degrees were confirmed upon him by the universities of Glasgow, Birmingham and Durham.